Moments of Truth are well-known concepts in the marketing world, from research (Zero Moment of Truth)… to shopping (First Moment of Truth) … to owning/using a product (Second Moment of Truth). Now, in a recent blog post, David Berkowitz introduces one more: the Infinite Moment of Truth (IMOT), which is all about sharing the experience of any (or all) of the other Moments of Truth. Berkowitz suggests the IMOT is infinite in three ways:

the number of people a consumer can share experiences with

the ways they can share experiences

and the period of time during which they can share their experiences

Each of the Moments of Truth provide their own marketing opportunities, but the Infinite Moment of Truth is the one that can harness the full power of social media and start the “moment of truth cycle” againby influencing the choice a consumer makes at the Zero moment of truth.

The consumer purchases a product, uses it, loves it, and shares this experience with their networks… and someone in their network gets to the Zero Moment of Truth and says “I will purchase.” In order to get to the sharing part of this equation, however, the consumer needs to have an impactful experience – and it is up to us (the marketers) to make sure our consumers have something to talk about, and have various simple ways to talk about it.

The secret to getting to this coveted IMOT is in building relationships with our consumers. In the process of building relationships, we ask our consumers important questions, we pay attention to their preferences and needs, and we build an emotional connection with them. All of these actions make the memorable impact that triggers sharing, such as the sharing of product recommendations….and recommendations lead to purchase. Your ROR (Return on Relationship) here is strong!

The real value in sharing is when the same person shares more than once, and with more than one person, and in more than one way. Actually, the possibilities are infinite, giving us the Infinite Moment of Truth. The people who turn a one-time sharing into an IMOT (which often leads to purchase) are Brand Advocates.

Brand Advocates are the facilitators of the Infinite Moments of Truth around our products. As we put together our marketing plans, we need to start thinking in terms of how to spark IMOTs, or in other words, how to engage our Brand Advocates.

Whether we talk about IMOTs, ROR, or WOM (Word of Mouth), the goal is the same: delight your consumer, then work as hard as you can to give them the tools and reasons to tell the rest of their worlds about your product.